Maple took a step backwards in May going 10-17 after posting a quick and surprising 13-11 start in April. At the time this article was written the Marauders were also struggling at 1-4 in June.
24-32 record places us in 4th place in the close Billy Martin Division in the Thurman Munson League. A .500 record may win this division! Outside of slugging and HRs the offense is struggling to score runs (11th in the TML). However, the perceived weakness in the pitching staff is in fact the teams strong point. Maple is in the top of each of the pitching categories. If the defense was a bit better we could only imagine how better the staff stats and the W/L record would be (10th in BABIP and 11th in DEF EFF).
Maple offense has been led by Billy Greer OF who is hitting .289 with 11 HRs and 24 RBI and 12 SBs.
Maple pitching has been led by Jesse George SP who is 5-5, 3.82 ERA, 43 Ks, 75.1 IP
On the farm:
Astoria AAA is 23-33, 7.5 games back
Sandy Springs AA is 28-27, 7.5 games back
Kingwood A is 32-24, 8.5 games back
Tee Wilson CF our highest rated prospect received a brief stint in Maple hitting .255 with 3 HRs and 14 RBI in 24 games. He was sent back down to AAA Astoria. We should see him during September Call-Ups. He also might be a starter next year in Maple in CF.
Jason
HOME OF THE 10TH MAN
HOME OF THE 10TH MAN
Friday, September 27, 2013
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
Maple off to a surprising start in Season V
Maple finished the opening month of Season V above .500 posting a 13-11 record. Maple unlike last year is winning the close games and doing well in extra innings (6-1 in 1 run games & 3-1 in Xinnings). The power game is still in the lineup (ranked #2 in the TML) with 40 HRs. Every other offensive category Maple sits about average meanwhile, in the pitching category Maple is #1 in strikeouts at 274 for the season. Despite having the 11th ranked defensive efficiency and BABIP surprisingly the pitching staff ranks in the top half of most of the major categories including ERA, Starter ERA, Bullpen ERA and runs allowed.
Maple dug into their farm system to call up two of the top rated prospects. Robert Osborne SP and CF Tee Wilson joined the club at the ABL level very early on. The last remaining of the top prospects may also get a call up before rosters expand in September CL Manny Palma. Maple's farm system has dropped in rating to #22nd overall.
Maple is also lacking a top 20 batter and pitcher for the first time in five seasons of ABL baseball.
Down on the farm all levels of the organization are in contention to make the playoffs. Astoria AAA is 3 GB sitting 14-17, Sandy Springs is 18-13, 2 GB and Kingwood is 20-11, 2 GB and for the first time ever is above .500 on the season!
On the health front, the Marauders have lost 3 starting players so far due to injuries. CF Anthony Lewis is due back in May, SP Aaron Nelson is due back in June and the big blow is CL Johnny Tiller who is out for the season.
Billy Greer continues to be the most consistent batter for Maple, .299 bavg, 6 HRs, and 9 SBs so far this season. Chandler Fisher surprisingly is our top starter with 4 wins, 3.09 ERA and 32 IP.
Hopefully we can keep this going!
Jason
Maple Marauders
Maple dug into their farm system to call up two of the top rated prospects. Robert Osborne SP and CF Tee Wilson joined the club at the ABL level very early on. The last remaining of the top prospects may also get a call up before rosters expand in September CL Manny Palma. Maple's farm system has dropped in rating to #22nd overall.
Maple is also lacking a top 20 batter and pitcher for the first time in five seasons of ABL baseball.
Down on the farm all levels of the organization are in contention to make the playoffs. Astoria AAA is 3 GB sitting 14-17, Sandy Springs is 18-13, 2 GB and Kingwood is 20-11, 2 GB and for the first time ever is above .500 on the season!
On the health front, the Marauders have lost 3 starting players so far due to injuries. CF Anthony Lewis is due back in May, SP Aaron Nelson is due back in June and the big blow is CL Johnny Tiller who is out for the season.
Billy Greer continues to be the most consistent batter for Maple, .299 bavg, 6 HRs, and 9 SBs so far this season. Chandler Fisher surprisingly is our top starter with 4 wins, 3.09 ERA and 32 IP.
Hopefully we can keep this going!
Jason
Maple Marauders
Friday, August 30, 2013
Maple Post season & Pre Season Review
Maple managed another late season run finishing 81-81 on the season but, for the first time in their ABL history failed to make the playoffs.
The off-season created some challenges for Maple. The pitching which was an anchor in the past for the Marauders was no longer one of the best in the league. The hitting showed some pop but, never managed to be consistent throughout the season.
Some highlights so far:
Just after Post Season:
MR Emmanuel Villa executed his last optional contract year.
MR Ron Cutter had his last optional contract year renewed.
Cutter should be valuable this year in the ABL while Villa will most likely see most of his time in the Minors.
Annual Draft;
Maple went after strikeout king SP Jesus Ramirez from the University of Florida in R1
Then Maple went after power hitting RF George Evans in R2 from the University of LSU.
Those two top picks hopefully will pan out for Maple and address both needs in the SP and Hitting dept.
Free Agency:
Victor Enriquez SP - He had short stint in the ABL and failed miserably. Our scouts feel his ceiling is AAA.
Brandon Crawford MR - Another average MR was set free. Those are a dime a dozen.
Eric McSwan DH - This was a tough decision but he was asking for too much money and with the crop of youth I have coming up that can play either OF and/or DH he was viewed as expendable. We will take the compensation pick and hopefully bank a future star. Mile High signed this allstar!
We did sign Aaron Nelson SP to a 1 year contract and we hope he can fill a back end starting pitcher role this year in the ABL.
Rule V Draft:
Maple lost two players Jake Hennessey and Allen Gardner in the Rule V draft. Good news is Allen Gardner was returned to Maple after SoCal decided to part ways. Bad news is Gardner won't see any ABL action anytime soon.
Jason
Maple
The off-season created some challenges for Maple. The pitching which was an anchor in the past for the Marauders was no longer one of the best in the league. The hitting showed some pop but, never managed to be consistent throughout the season.
Some highlights so far:
Just after Post Season:
MR Emmanuel Villa executed his last optional contract year.
MR Ron Cutter had his last optional contract year renewed.
Cutter should be valuable this year in the ABL while Villa will most likely see most of his time in the Minors.
Annual Draft;
Maple went after strikeout king SP Jesus Ramirez from the University of Florida in R1
Then Maple went after power hitting RF George Evans in R2 from the University of LSU.
Those two top picks hopefully will pan out for Maple and address both needs in the SP and Hitting dept.
Free Agency:
Victor Enriquez SP - He had short stint in the ABL and failed miserably. Our scouts feel his ceiling is AAA.
Brandon Crawford MR - Another average MR was set free. Those are a dime a dozen.
Eric McSwan DH - This was a tough decision but he was asking for too much money and with the crop of youth I have coming up that can play either OF and/or DH he was viewed as expendable. We will take the compensation pick and hopefully bank a future star. Mile High signed this allstar!
We did sign Aaron Nelson SP to a 1 year contract and we hope he can fill a back end starting pitcher role this year in the ABL.
Rule V Draft:
Maple lost two players Jake Hennessey and Allen Gardner in the Rule V draft. Good news is Allen Gardner was returned to Maple after SoCal decided to part ways. Bad news is Gardner won't see any ABL action anytime soon.
Jason
Maple
Thursday, July 11, 2013
Maple - August Update - Season #4
Maple had their 3rd consecutive improving monthly result in August finishing at 16-12, .571 winning pct. July they were 13-11, .542 winning pct and in June we were 14-12, .538 winning pct. We manage to climb from last place to 2nd place within 2 games of front runner San Francisco. At one point we swept four consecutive divisional series!
The teams hitting has really started to take off! We are in the top quarter of the TML in many categories including; bavg, obpct, hits and home runs. Pitching hasn't really improved as Maple ranks in the bottom quarter in almost every pitching category except; bullpen ERA, BB and Ks. The defense also is 2nd last in the TML.
Maple's top prospects rank 12th - middle of the pack with Robert Osborne SP acquired from Nottinghamshire maintaining the top ranking at 19th, Manny Palma CL acquired in the same trade from Nottinghamshire ranks #39th and Tee Wilson CF who was our 1st round pick (14th overall) this year ranks 41st overall.
From an organizational stand point; Maple is ranked in the top 5 in the following positions: LF, RP and CL. SP and 1B are our worst positions strength wise.
Down on the farm the following players are going through hot streaks: AAA - SP Ronnie Haynes, 3G, 1-0, 1.47 ERA w/ 18.1 IP and 14Ks.; AA - Miguel Jimenez SP, 3G, 2-0, 1.06 ERA, 17 IP w/ 11 Ks; and A - Daniel Irwin OF - 7 G, 14 for 28, .500 bavg, 2 HR, 6 RBI, Stephen Joseph MR, 14 G, 1 SV, 0.00 ERA, 17.1 IP w/ 22Ks - 0 ERS! and Jose Medina 1B, 11 G, 10-24, .417 bavg, 3 HR, 9 RBI who is stuck in A due to a log jam at 1B above him.
Schedule outlook for September:
@ SFE x 3
@ JER x 3
H SOU x 3
H EUR x 3
@ LAS x 3
@ BOS x 3
H JAC x 3
H SFE x 4
H JER x 2
We will need to sweep SFE in our final 4 games and play .600 baseball in the rest of the games this month to have a shot. That would give us 4-0 + 14-9 = 18-9 record.
Jason GM Maple
The teams hitting has really started to take off! We are in the top quarter of the TML in many categories including; bavg, obpct, hits and home runs. Pitching hasn't really improved as Maple ranks in the bottom quarter in almost every pitching category except; bullpen ERA, BB and Ks. The defense also is 2nd last in the TML.
Maple's top prospects rank 12th - middle of the pack with Robert Osborne SP acquired from Nottinghamshire maintaining the top ranking at 19th, Manny Palma CL acquired in the same trade from Nottinghamshire ranks #39th and Tee Wilson CF who was our 1st round pick (14th overall) this year ranks 41st overall.
From an organizational stand point; Maple is ranked in the top 5 in the following positions: LF, RP and CL. SP and 1B are our worst positions strength wise.
Down on the farm the following players are going through hot streaks: AAA - SP Ronnie Haynes, 3G, 1-0, 1.47 ERA w/ 18.1 IP and 14Ks.; AA - Miguel Jimenez SP, 3G, 2-0, 1.06 ERA, 17 IP w/ 11 Ks; and A - Daniel Irwin OF - 7 G, 14 for 28, .500 bavg, 2 HR, 6 RBI, Stephen Joseph MR, 14 G, 1 SV, 0.00 ERA, 17.1 IP w/ 22Ks - 0 ERS! and Jose Medina 1B, 11 G, 10-24, .417 bavg, 3 HR, 9 RBI who is stuck in A due to a log jam at 1B above him.
Schedule outlook for September:
@ SFE x 3
@ JER x 3
H SOU x 3
H EUR x 3
@ LAS x 3
@ BOS x 3
H JAC x 3
H SFE x 4
H JER x 2
We will need to sweep SFE in our final 4 games and play .600 baseball in the rest of the games this month to have a shot. That would give us 4-0 + 14-9 = 18-9 record.
Jason GM Maple
Saturday, June 29, 2013
MAPLE JULY UPDATE - Season #4
Another above .500 month for Maple in July; finishing 12-11. Maple did not make any last minute trades before the deadline. We were trying to move some older SPs with some not so good contracts such as Pat Super Sellers and also an interesting hurler in Jesse George who is arbitration eligible and having a good season. Alot of teams inquired about our youth namely Billy Greer OF. Greer is not going anywhere anytime soon! Towards the end of the month, Maple called up from AAA SP Victor Enriquez and Pancho Lopez. While Enriquez has not looked sharp in his two starts, Lopez has been on fire going 2-0 and yielding only 1 run in 12 IP!
Maple in almost every hitting category is around the middle of the pack in the TML. Pitching is another story for a disappointing season for the rotation ranking towards the bottom in the TML. Combine that with a poor defense efficiency (12th in the TML) and you start to figure out why Maple is likely not going to defend their Billy Martin Division title for the 4th consecutive season.
The current bright spots on the Marauders are: Pitching: Johnny Tiller CL - 1-3, 26 Saves, WHIP 0.97 and MR Ambrosio Cuco 2-3, 1 Save, WHIP 0.98. Hitting: Vic Jennings 1B, .313 bavg, .383 obpct, .516 slg pct with RC/27 of 6.96
Prospects Watch: Maple ranks 14th out of 24 teams in the ABL according to the Top Annual Systems report. CF Tee Wilson AAA (23rd), SP Robert Osborne AAA (28th)* and Manny Palma CL AAA (60th)* - * both acquired in the Roberto Martinez trade to Nottinghamshire.
Tee "Off" Wilson looks to be the real deal, hitting .295 bavg, .356 obpct, .465 slg pct w/ .821 OPS in his first season of AAA ball. Wilson has been playing CF, however; his best position is LF. Hopefully he can show signs of development in CF for us. Another nice aspect of his game is his speed - 24 SBs but, also 14 CS!
We sit 8.5 games back of SF for the division lead. We will need a big run in August to see if we even have an outside shot at a miracle in September like we did in Season #1. :-) SF has done it before (choke) so we will see what happens :-)
Maple in almost every hitting category is around the middle of the pack in the TML. Pitching is another story for a disappointing season for the rotation ranking towards the bottom in the TML. Combine that with a poor defense efficiency (12th in the TML) and you start to figure out why Maple is likely not going to defend their Billy Martin Division title for the 4th consecutive season.
The current bright spots on the Marauders are: Pitching: Johnny Tiller CL - 1-3, 26 Saves, WHIP 0.97 and MR Ambrosio Cuco 2-3, 1 Save, WHIP 0.98. Hitting: Vic Jennings 1B, .313 bavg, .383 obpct, .516 slg pct with RC/27 of 6.96
Prospects Watch: Maple ranks 14th out of 24 teams in the ABL according to the Top Annual Systems report. CF Tee Wilson AAA (23rd), SP Robert Osborne AAA (28th)* and Manny Palma CL AAA (60th)* - * both acquired in the Roberto Martinez trade to Nottinghamshire.
Tee "Off" Wilson looks to be the real deal, hitting .295 bavg, .356 obpct, .465 slg pct w/ .821 OPS in his first season of AAA ball. Wilson has been playing CF, however; his best position is LF. Hopefully he can show signs of development in CF for us. Another nice aspect of his game is his speed - 24 SBs but, also 14 CS!
We sit 8.5 games back of SF for the division lead. We will need a big run in August to see if we even have an outside shot at a miracle in September like we did in Season #1. :-) SF has done it before (choke) so we will see what happens :-)
Thursday, June 20, 2013
June Update
Maple finished June with an above .500 record at 14-12. This was the first time all season we have played over .500 ball in a month. However; we trail SF by 8.5 games and made no ground up this past month. A 7-3 record in the past 10 leading into July has Maple playing 2nd best overall in their past 10 next to Montreal who posted a 8-2 mark.
Maple's W/L improvement came from their play in close games. We sit 17-13 now in 1 run games. The pen is a strength of the club and they are doing their best holding the fort for a team that features one of the worst SP rotations in the league. How things change so fast after only 1 season! In summary, we have a very poor rotation & defense, excellent bullpen and average hitting with some great pop. Might explain the 35-47 overall record as we approach the allstar break.
June started off with a big bang as Roberto Martinez was dealt to Nottinghamshire. This was a deal consisting of two teams going in the opposite directions and fast. We are happy with the pickup of youngsters Manny Palma CL and SP Robert Osborne.
We then decided to give two youngster a shot at the ABL when we called up OF Billy Greer and SS Clay Wadden. Billy has added a nice bat facing RHP where Big Stick Anthony Shelton has really struggled despite being in the top 3 in the league in HRs. Shelton though is crushing southpaws! Clay hasn't hit too much but he has added much needed team speed and within one week had the team lead in SBs for the entire season! Top prospect Dave Guenette 3B was sent down to AAA to make room. The team also released veteran Derek Beimer SS. He cleared waivers multiple times. He does possess a decent power bat but, his limited defensive abilities really hurt him as a everyday player in the ABL.
Jason/Maple
Maple's W/L improvement came from their play in close games. We sit 17-13 now in 1 run games. The pen is a strength of the club and they are doing their best holding the fort for a team that features one of the worst SP rotations in the league. How things change so fast after only 1 season! In summary, we have a very poor rotation & defense, excellent bullpen and average hitting with some great pop. Might explain the 35-47 overall record as we approach the allstar break.
June started off with a big bang as Roberto Martinez was dealt to Nottinghamshire. This was a deal consisting of two teams going in the opposite directions and fast. We are happy with the pickup of youngsters Manny Palma CL and SP Robert Osborne.
We then decided to give two youngster a shot at the ABL when we called up OF Billy Greer and SS Clay Wadden. Billy has added a nice bat facing RHP where Big Stick Anthony Shelton has really struggled despite being in the top 3 in the league in HRs. Shelton though is crushing southpaws! Clay hasn't hit too much but he has added much needed team speed and within one week had the team lead in SBs for the entire season! Top prospect Dave Guenette 3B was sent down to AAA to make room. The team also released veteran Derek Beimer SS. He cleared waivers multiple times. He does possess a decent power bat but, his limited defensive abilities really hurt him as a everyday player in the ABL.
Jason/Maple
Sunday, June 2, 2013
May in Review
An 11-18 month in May has shifted the focus of top management from playoff contender to pretender. We might have enough to win the division at .500 but, this will not be enough to win a championship this year. We have Cabo San Lucas, Las Vegas, Nottinghamshire, Montreal, Seattle and yes Boston and many others all with better teams this year at the ABL level. We have decided to be a seller right now and based on this decision we sent Robert Martinez our ace SP packing to Nottinghamshire for a couple of pitching prospects. In return Maple acquired Robert Osborne SP and Manny Palma CL. Osborne will start his Maple career in AAA Astoria and Palma will start in A ball Kingwood.
Rumors also swirling that Pat Super Sellers last years Allstar representative for the TML is on the block. At 34 years old, this SP can still get the job done for a contender. At $12M next year plus a pro-rated remaining contract value this year it will be interesting to see if a contender jumps at the opportunity to pick up a veteran down the stretch for this rotation. Sellers has always rated higher than his potential in his ABL career.
Anthony "Big Stick" Shelton has continued his hot ways. He leads the ABL in HRs with 19 and 30 of his 42 hits have gone for extra bases. Anthony who is not hitting his weight at .211 vs. 226 lbs is crushing south-paws this year at .328 bavg with a OPS 1.296. Shelton has always shown amazing flashes of POWER in the ABL and he can be very streaky when he is healthy. Original on the trade block, this latest power burst has management thinking he can stick with Maple and his team friendly $800K for the next two seasons.
Down on the farm nothing spectacular in terms of W/L records is happening however; there are some bright stars waiting in the wings to make the ABL.
Astoria AAA:
Billy Greer OF and Clay Wadden SS have been called up to the ABL.
Sandy Springs AA:
Oliver Davis OF and Antonio Paz 1B have been pounding the baseball all season long.
Kingwood A:
Jose Medina 1B is tearing up pitchers in A Ball.
Minor League Systems is currently ranked #14 overall. Watch out for Tee Wilson OF in AAA he is a couple of years away from being at the big dance.
Financial Watch:
Attendance is down -2.7%, Budget is #11 and payroll is #10 so the move of Robert Martinez puts us in line to help re-sign our FA eligible players such as Eric McSwan DH if desired.
At 20-32 we are still in the hunt for the division title strangely enough. We are sitting 5.5 games back of SF after recently being swept by them last sim. Keith K Thompson moves into the rotation for Martinez and Dan Wilder receives the long awaited call up back to the ABL at MR to take Thompson's spot in the pen. Dave Guenette 3B was demoted in order to not rush him. He has been struggling at the ABL level. Jeff Morgan UTIL has been called up to fill his active roster spot.
In June we face Texas, Jacksonville and Georgia with 2 games also with SF. It will be interesting to see if we can "hang around" the TML Billy Martin division a bit longer to make things interesting.
Rumors also swirling that Pat Super Sellers last years Allstar representative for the TML is on the block. At 34 years old, this SP can still get the job done for a contender. At $12M next year plus a pro-rated remaining contract value this year it will be interesting to see if a contender jumps at the opportunity to pick up a veteran down the stretch for this rotation. Sellers has always rated higher than his potential in his ABL career.
Anthony "Big Stick" Shelton has continued his hot ways. He leads the ABL in HRs with 19 and 30 of his 42 hits have gone for extra bases. Anthony who is not hitting his weight at .211 vs. 226 lbs is crushing south-paws this year at .328 bavg with a OPS 1.296. Shelton has always shown amazing flashes of POWER in the ABL and he can be very streaky when he is healthy. Original on the trade block, this latest power burst has management thinking he can stick with Maple and his team friendly $800K for the next two seasons.
Down on the farm nothing spectacular in terms of W/L records is happening however; there are some bright stars waiting in the wings to make the ABL.
Astoria AAA:
Billy Greer OF and Clay Wadden SS have been called up to the ABL.
Sandy Springs AA:
Oliver Davis OF and Antonio Paz 1B have been pounding the baseball all season long.
Kingwood A:
Jose Medina 1B is tearing up pitchers in A Ball.
Minor League Systems is currently ranked #14 overall. Watch out for Tee Wilson OF in AAA he is a couple of years away from being at the big dance.
Financial Watch:
Attendance is down -2.7%, Budget is #11 and payroll is #10 so the move of Robert Martinez puts us in line to help re-sign our FA eligible players such as Eric McSwan DH if desired.
At 20-32 we are still in the hunt for the division title strangely enough. We are sitting 5.5 games back of SF after recently being swept by them last sim. Keith K Thompson moves into the rotation for Martinez and Dan Wilder receives the long awaited call up back to the ABL at MR to take Thompson's spot in the pen. Dave Guenette 3B was demoted in order to not rush him. He has been struggling at the ABL level. Jeff Morgan UTIL has been called up to fill his active roster spot.
In June we face Texas, Jacksonville and Georgia with 2 games also with SF. It will be interesting to see if we can "hang around" the TML Billy Martin division a bit longer to make things interesting.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)